Vegan/soy free proteins and recipes

[Cookie]

Hey guys. I'm finally beginning to get some answers to what's been wrong with my health for 15 years. Part of it, it turns out, is that I have food sensitivities. Meats and dairy are bad as well as cane sugar. Soy wasn't tested yet, but because of some other issues I have, it's best to leave it alone as much as I can, says the doctor. Also, cane sugar is bad bad bad. I've found a resource for vegan/vegetarian Indian dishes and I'm loving it. Chickpeas and a rainbow of lentils, ftw! I'm also loving the Gluten Free Goddess blog. While gluten is (thankfully) a non-issue for me, I found a lot of vegan recipes (quinoa!) and even desserts that have natural substitutes for cane sugar.

My question is, what vegan non-soy proteins do any of you who eat that way use? Do any of you know good resources for vegan recipes, especially those that would make a goot protein rich main dish?

Thanks!

[the_std]

I love quinoa. I'm not a vegetarian, but I very rarely buy meat anymore because it's cheaper, easy to make and full of protein. I usually make it to the standard "make it like rice" recipe, except I make it with coconut milk instead of water and then add some diced red peppers about three-quarters of the way through the cooking process. It makes an excellent side dish or a base for a larger dish, like a soup or a casserole.

[ArcticChicken]

In general, legumes + grains = whole protein. So beans and corn, lentils and rice, that sort of thing.

I found a vegan red beans and rice recipe that looks tasty.

[Mel]

If gluten is not an issue, look up seitan recipes. It's not soy, and it's a good source of faux meat that you can basically flavour the way you like it.

Seitan O'Greatness is a good one that hubby and I have adapted to the flavours and spices that we like. It's almost like deli meat when sliced thinly enough, but you can chop it up for stir fries as well.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...?recipe=606572

[NorthernZel]

Also, if you're not allergic/sensitive to nuts, they can also provide texture and natural oils to a dish. A Vegan restaurant we visited once offered a nuts/beet steak that almost tasted the same as an ordinary beef patty.

[Seshat]

South and Central American recipes are great for the beans/corn and beans/wheat pairings.

Traditional European peasant recipes have a lot of peas/barley, peas/oats and peas/wheat pairings, as well as some with beans. The warmer the climate, the greater the variety of legumes the peasant recipes have; but barley, oats and wheat seem to be available right up to Scandinavia.

For the widest variety of legumes and grains on offer, study the peasant recipes near the Fertile Crescent. A lot of our vegetable foodstuffs originated in that area, and everywhere in the same general latitudes can grow most of them. So the entire Mediterranean area, the Indian subcontinent and that latitude band of Asia all got to spread and share that set of grains and legumes. (unfortunately for them, the Americas didn't get them until after Columbus. But Eurasia didn't get the American crops until then either.).

[Food Lady]

I love Quorn products, though I don't know if any are vegan. The ones I have used contain egg to bind them. They don't contain soy or dairy, unless they are something that's breaded or stuffed or something.

[Kittish]

I'm not vegetarian, but I do like to cook with a wide variety of beans and whole grains. One site I've found that has some very interesting recipes and ideas is http://www.divinetaste.com/. This is an Indian (not Amerind) blog site, so is vegetarian, though the author does use some dairy products in some of her recipes. It's where I got my eggless chocolate custard recipe that turned out so very yummy. She's got a lot of other recipes that I'm interested in trying, just have to figure some way to sneak em past the picky eater boyfriend.

[Cookie]

Thanks everyone! I have to be picky about my legumes as well. Turns out red beans and pintos are out. Black beans are only so so. Makes it hard to get protein! I'm trying to keep it as natural as possible and avoid "fake meats" as much as I can. I will indulge occasionally, though. There's a local place that serves an amazing seitan gyro! I'll check out those Fertile Crescent peasant recipes. I've also got my eye on a Middle Easter/North African vegetarian recipe book.

[Seshat]

Try substituting legumes you can have for ones you can't. Try replacing soy beans or black beans with broad (fava) beans. (and a nice chianti)

[Cookie]

Yeah, I've been into chickpeas and various lentils this week. Unfortunately, wine and beer or both out because of the type of yeast used to ferment, or I'd totally be into that chianti. The doctor told me to tell my husband her orders were to drink more vodka and whiskey.

[Solumina]

I don't have a whole lot to add but almond milk is, at least to me, a much better milk substitute than soy milk. It is super tasty on its own and adds a nice richness to dishes (and has a much better texture in coffee than soy milk).

[Barracuda]

I would look at falafel. It's a traditional Middle Eastern meatless option made of sesame and fava beans and is very versatile. It's also great with hummus.

[Cookie]

I've tried rice milk, I know soy milk is liquid chalk. ugh. I'll have to try almond milk.

I'm actually making falafel this weekend. Never had it before, but it sounds awesome and I'm looking forward to it.

[Solumina]

I find rice milk a little too thin, I like its flavor but it just doesn't really work as a stand in for milk, especially in coffee or tea. For almond milk I recommend the refrigerated stuff, you can get it shelf stable but it isn't quite as awesome.


Good luck with the falafel, I've never attempted to make it (since hubby is a super picky eater and won't try it) but it is om nom good